**** Back when I was a senior in high school, I remember loving the film, “Some Like It Hot”, a Billy Wilder hit featuring some very big stars. It was based on a French film of the 30’s “Fanfare of Love”. The story is about two Chicago musicians, in the 1930’s, who witness some murders and must get out of town. They have very little money, but they learn that there is a new band forming that is heading out west. The perfect escape. The only problem for them, the band is all female. They must become female impersonators to get out of town. It was considered one of the greatest films of the time with a cast that was prefect. The musicians were Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, the love interest, female singer for the group, Marilyn Monroe and the supporting cast included Joe E. Brown ( one of the greatest comedians of that period), George Raft and Pat O’Brien. It may have been one of the first films to evade the Motion Picture Production Code, as it featured cross-dressing. That was 1959 and our world has changed..
2024! Set in Chicago when Prohibition has everyone thirsty for a little excitement, “SOME LIKE IT HOT” the musical is the “glorious, big, high-kicking” (Associated Press) story of two musicians forced to flee the Windy City after witnessing a mob hit. With gangsters hot on their heels, they catch a cross-country train for the life-chasing, life-changing trip of a lifetime. The musicians are played by Matt Loehr and Tavis Kordell, two amazing talented performers who act, sing and dance. When it comes to tap dancing, if that is your thing, you will love this production. Directed and choreographed by Casey Nicholaw, you will find yourself tapping to the beat of the amazing tap numbers in this 2 hours and 20 minutes of musical theater. ( one intermission).
Sugar ( played to perfection by Sandra Ellis-Gaston) is the love interest for Joe (Loehr’s character) and the leader of the female group is played with just the right touch by Tarra Conner Jones. The love interest for Daphne/Jerry (Kordell’s character) and the comic relief is played by Edward Juvier, who truly creates his own character and does not try to imitate the great Joe E. Brown. He falls in love with Daphne and in this version, Daphne learns a great deal about Jerry.
The ensemble is one of the hardest working you will see in a musical. They are onstage more than in most shows and the dance numbers are pretty consistent. This is a road show, yet the set (Scott Pask) works as if it was a permanent one and the costumes (Gregg Barnes), lighting (Natasha Katz) and sound (Brian Ronan) are perfect. While I loved the film and of course the actors that did it, I was quite impressed with the addition of music and the way in which it is presented. Our world has changed when it comes to cross dressing, and, so I feel that modern day audiences will accept and understand this far better than they might have back some 67 years ago. It is fun!
, so I feel that modern day audiences will accept and understand this far better than they might have back some 67 years ago. It is fun!
“Some Like It Hot” will continue thru Nov 3rd with performances as follows:
Thu, Oct 24:7:00pm
Fri, Oct 25:7:30pm
Sat, Oct 26:2:00pm & 7:30pm
Sun, Oct 27:1:00pm & 6:30pm
Tue, Oct 29:7:00pm
Wed, Oct 30:1:00pm & 7:00pm
Thu, Oct 31:7:00p
Fri, Nov 1:7:30pm
Sat, Nov 2:2:00pm & 7:30pm
Sun, Nov 3:1:00pm
The Cadillac Palace Theatre is located at 151 West Randolph in Chicago
To order tickets visit www.broadwayinchicago.com
To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “Some Like It Hot”.
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